Snare-strainer for drums.



J. E. LYNEHAN.

SNARE STRAINER PoR DRUMS.

APPLIUATION FILED AUG. 13,1907. '91 1 ,890 Patented Feb. 9, 1909.

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J. E. LYNEHAN. SNARE STRAINER POR DRUMS. 'APPLICATION FILED AUG. 13,1907.

91,890. Patented Feb; 9, 1909.

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JOHN E. LYNEHAN, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

SNARE-STRAINER FOR DLUTJS.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Jol-IN E. LYNEHAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Snare-Strainers for Drums, of which the following is :a specification.

The objects of this invention are to secure an automatic adjustment of the several snares of a drum to the same tension; to thus improve the sound, and to eliminate the difficulty and labor of tightening the snares independently; to avoid cutting the catgut into separate pieces to form the snares, and enable them to be all in one piece; to secure a simple and inexpensive construction, not liable to get out of order, and which will accommodate any desiredL number of snai-es, and to obtain other advantages and results as may be brought out in the following description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals of reference indicate corresponding' parts in each of the several figures, Figure 1 shows in plan a drum equipped with snare strainers of my improved construction, and F ig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a. plan view of the snares with the strainer blocks and portions of their screw rods, all in proper relative position as on a drum but removed therefrom for greater clearness, and Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the same taken on line fc, Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a view of one of the strainer blocks from its side next the drum, Fig. 6 is a plan of the same and Fig. 7 an end view; Fig. 8 is a sectional view on line y, F ig. 5, and Figs. 9 and 10 are similar' sections illustrating certain modifications of construction.

In said drawings, 1 indicates the snare head of a drum across which snares are to be strung, and 2 is the shell of the drum provided with the usual hoops 3, et, connected by clamping rods 5 and by means of which the heads of the drum are tightened or brought under tension, as usual.

Upon the sides of the drum, at diametrically opposite points, are mounted my iinproved snare strainers, one at each end of the snares, and therefore two for each drum. These two strainers are practically alike, and therefore the following description of one will suliice for both.

On the two hoops 3 and 4 of the drum are Specification o Letters Patent.

Application filed August 13, 1907.

Patented Feb. 9, 1909.

Serial No. 388,287.

mounted posts 6, 7, preferably by screws driven from the inner sides of the hoops through the same into the posts 6, 7, respectively. Said posts have at their outer ends transverse apertures which are in alinement with each other, and form seats for a screw rod 12 mounted therein. rhe reduced end 13 of said screw rod is seated in the post 6, while the smooth shank 1d of said screw rod passes through the otherI post 7, and is provided therebeyond with a head 15 for turning the screw. rlhe threaded part 1G of the screw is between the said posts, preferably closely adjacent to the one on the band 3 next to the drum head which has the snares, as shown. Upon said threaded portion 16 of the screw 12, is the block 17 in which the snares 18 terminate and to which the ends of the catgut forming the saine are anchored. Said block comprises parallel inner and outer plates 19 and 2O respectively, the inner of which lies adjacent the drum shell, while the outer one 20 is perforated at its ends, as at 21, 21, for securing the ends of the catgnt. llatc 1Q has at its outer side, midway of the ends, a boss 22 which is tapped with a threaded socket to receive the screw rod 12. End pieces 28, 23 integrally7 connect said inner and outer plat-es 19, 20, and constitute a rectangular frame standing in one plane, and said ends extend beyond the same in a direction parallel to the screw 12 and away from the snare head of the drum to afford bearings for a single longitudinal cross bar 24 which is thus parallel to said plates 19, 20 and midway between the two in plan. Said strainers being in place on the drum, as shown, and the inner edge of the adjacent hoop being cut away as at 25 to allow the snares to pass smoothly therethrough over the edge of the drum head to the block 17, a piece of catgut is passed through the perforation 21 at one end of one block and knotted to secure it. The catgut is then carried across the drum head, between the plates 19, 2O of the other block, around the bottom bar thereof, back across the drum head, around the bottom bar of the first block and so on back and forth until the whole piece of catgut is used up, when the end is secured in the proper perforation 21 of the block at which it happens to terminate. YWhether an odd or even number of snares are formed is immaterial. Then by simply turning the screw rods 12, 12, to move the blocks 17, 17 away from the drum head, the snares are tightened. Moreover, the individual strands are broughtto just the same tension, since the bars otter but slight resistance to slipping of the catgut where it passes around them. To further such slipping or adjustment of the individual snares in tightening' up the blocks 1 7, l may arrange loosely on each of the bars 2^-l a piece of tubing 26, as in Fig. 9, and which thus serves as a roller. Or l may arrange on each bar 2d a seies or shortgrooved rollers 27, as shown in Fig. 8, each receiving a single turn or bight of the catgut. This latter construction is the preferred one, since it enables each individual snare to automatically adjust itself with relation to the others.

Obviously various other modifications could be made in the det `il construction of my device, without departing from the spirit and scope or' the invention, and l do not wish to be understood as limiting myself by positive descriptive terms herein employed except as t-he state of thcart may require.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

l. rEhe combination with a drum, of opposite blocks each comprising a rectangular frame disposed parallel to the plane of the drumhead and a cross bar on said trame, a one-piece snare wound around the said cross-bars in slidable engagement therewith and having its extremities anchored to the blocks, and a tension screw adapted to adjust one of said blocks with respect .to the drum.

2. T he combination with a drum, of opposite blocks each provided with a single crossbar disposed parallel to the plane of the drumhead, a one-piece snare wound around the two cross-bars in slidable engagement therewith and having its extremities anchored to the blocks, grooved rollers mounted end to end on said cross-bars each receiving a single strand of the snare, and a tension screw adapted to adjust one of said blocks with respect to the drum.

, 3. T he combination with a drum, of opposite blocks disposed at the outer sides of the shell of the drum and each comprising an inner plate lying` adjacent said shell, an outer plate parallel therewith, and two end pieces connecting said plates and with them constituting a rectangular frame standing in one plane beneath which said end pieces depend, a bar connecting the latter and standing in a plane parallel with said frame but below its opening, antiit'riction devices on said bar, a snare wound around such devices ot both blocks and leading through the openings in their frames, and means for adjusting one block vertically against the shell or the drum.

et. rl`he combination with a drum, of opposite blocks disposed at the outer sides of the shell of the drum and each comprising an inner plate, an outer plate parallel therewith, and two end pieces connecting said plates and with them constituting a rectangular frame standing in one plane beneath which said end pieces depend, a bar connecting the latter and standing in a plane parallel with said frame but below its opening, a snare wound around the bars of both blocks and leading through the openings in their frames, a boss projecting from the outer plate of the frame and tapped with a socket, and means engaging said socket and a remote point on the shell for adjusting the Yframe on the exterior ot' the shell.

5. ln a snare strainer, a block comprising spaced plates adapted to have the .catgut passed between themselves, one of said plates having a boss with a threaded socket, a crossbar parallel to said plates in a plane at right angles to their plane intermediate of them, and an adjusting screw in said threaded socket.

6. A snare strainer comprising in combination a block having an opening adapted to admit the strands otx eatgut, a centrally disposed bar across said opening for the catgnt to bend around, rollers on said bar, and means for mount-ing said block.

'7. ri snare strainer comprising in combination a block having' a central opening adapted to inclose all the snares, and a lateral perforation for anchoring an end 0f the catgut, a transverse bar opposite said opening in a plane parallel thereto, rolle 1s on said bar each adapted to receive a turn of the catgut, and means for mounting said block.

JOHN E. LYNEHAN.

In the presence of- RUssrLL M. Evmm'r'r, ltnnnnnioii GERMANN, Jr. 

